This disc of three major 20th century works for voice and string quartet marks the final recording by the distinguished soprano Benita Valente before her retirement from the concert stage. All three works were given their premiere performances by Benita Valente and the Julliard String Quartet. Richard Wernick's String Quartet No. 5, in four movements, is dedicated to the memory of the Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated in 1995 by an extreme Zionist nationalist at a moment when the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians appeared to have established momentum towards a positive outcome.